


The Streak

by Kaishakai



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Barry has a twin?, F/F, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I call this Earth 27, Let's see what all we can change, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 13:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18965950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaishakai/pseuds/Kaishakai
Summary: The thing everyone remembers the particle accelerator explosion for is the death toll. But not Betty. For her, the particle accelerator exploding is remembered simply for it exploding. It was the night that changed everything, the night her twin was put in a coma and which changed the course of their lives as a new species was created- the meta. Of course, the moment he wakes up, her twin decides he wants to become a hero. And it's not like she can leave him unattended, knowing their luck he'd find some way to screw the space-time continuum that would result in reality fracturing and the creation of a multiverse. She's pretty sure one of the many Barry out in the MV had already done that and that Barry is to blame for things being the way they are now. She's also pretty sure that Barry did not have a Betty to watch his back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Winter Waters (mystmae)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mystmae/gifts), [You should have said no!!](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=You+should+have+said+no%21%21).



“Allen, you have those results I need?”

“You mean from the evidence I told you would be done yesterday?”

Hanson shifts awkwardly, no doubt playing with his tie. “Yea, those. I mean, if you haven’t finished yet that’s perfectly fine. I can–”

Betty rolls her eyes, keeping her gaze focused on the microscope as she points to her outbox. “Your file is fourth from the bottom. Your results were in yesterday morning and I finished compiling it all by lunch.”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was done?”

“I told you two days ago it would all be done and the report would be ready by lunch yesterday,” she sighs, making notes on the current sample. “You are a big boy, a detective with the CCPD, I’m fairly certain you know how to read time and check a calendar.”

“Why didn’t you say anything yesterday? I’ve been waiting–”

“We have a system, Detective, and have for over two years now,” Betty cuts in sharply. “Evidence is collected, it comes to the lab, I look it all over and give you a ballpark figure on when the results will be in. If, by some miracle, it’s done early, or something comes up and I need more time, I text you. Otherwise, you show up at the pre-appointed time to get the initial findings and once I’m done compiling the results and have written my report, I text you to come pick up your file. If you’re one of the more brutish officers you even come in and harass me so much that I either take care of your evidence just so I can get a break from you, or your evidence somehow mysteriously gets moved to the bottom of the pile. That’s our system. That is the same system we’ve had since I was set up here. In no part of this do I hold your hand through the entire process and make sure you remember to check on your evidence. It finished on time so you should have picked it up on time. You didn’t though so I assumed you had better things to do and I moved on through my log. If I need to treat you like a little kid and text you every time a result comes in and when each report prints and when my file is done, I can start doing that. But then you can explain to Captain Singh why there are so many text charges on my work line and why I’m keeping better track of you than your girl does.”

A throat clears from the doorway and Betty finishes her train of thought in her notes before calmly setting everything down. Joe is standing in the doorway behind a beet-red Detective Hanson looking like he isn’t sure whether he should scold her or laugh at his poor co-worker.

She sighs heavily and grabs the aforementioned file. Betty passes it to Hanson, “I am not a psychotic person on the brink of a mental breakdown. Stop treating me like one. Go back to the harassing hourly visits and treat me like the forensic scientist I spent nine months of the silent treatment from Joe to become. Next time, I’ll either pass the results to Clayborn ‘by accident’ or your evidence will continuously find its way to the bottom of the stack for a solid month. Got it?”

Hanson takes the file and starts to leave, tossing out a parting shot. “For the record, I like working with your brother better.”

“That’s because he’s a pushover,” she snorts.

Joe is thumbing through the stack of files on her desk and shakes his head. “These are your outgoing?”

Betty nods, grabbing her current file and finishing her notes. “Kyle’s has been waiting for him for three days now. _Three_ , Joe. Every time he comes in, he asks if it’s done yet but then launches into how he can totally wait and, as a matter of fact, he can just come back tomorrow, and _then he just leaves_. Today, I even had it in hand, ready to give it to him but he just left!” She makes a noise of disgust and adds her notes to the current folder. “I thought they were all bad after the particle accelerator and again when Len left, but it’s actually gotten worse. I didn’t think that were possible, but they’ve managed it.”

“Give it a few more days,” Joe tries to soothe. “This time next week they’ll all be back to normal.”

“They better be, otherwise I might just have that breakdown they are all so scared of,” she mutters. She leans past Joe and passes him the file he is looking for. “Yours finished half an hour ago so you’re right on time. If that’s all, I’ve finished my log for the day and I was supposed to be out an hour ago.”

“In which case you better get your butt out of here before Singh catches…”

Buzzing fills her ears and Betty’s skin lights up, the hairs standing on end as energy thrums through her. The buzzing quiets after some time and the energy disperses, leaving a low hum that dances along her spine.

“Betty!”

Betty jerks sharply at the tone, eyes focusing to find Joe standing in front of her with a worried look on his face.

“You okay? What happened, did you get dizzy? Do I need to take you–”

“Barry’s awake.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am in a good mood, enjoy second chapter in same day

Joe looks at her, hand cupping her arms. He sighs, squeezing her arms gently, “Betty…”

“No, I felt it, Joe,” she cuts in before he can start on one of his spiels. She _knows_ Barry is awake. “He’s awake and you know as well as I that the first place he’s going is to see Iris.”

Joe gives a reluctant smile, “True enough, but there’s no guarantee he’s actually awake. It’s going on ten months now, Betty. And I’m pretty sure that if Barry just suddenly woke up that STAR Labs would call to tell us.”

Betty snorts, “Not once he finds out how long he’s been out. He’ll be out of there before they can even reach for their phones.”

He looks ready to argue again before letting out a put-upon sigh and nodding. “That boy was always quick to take off. Don’t know why he never joined track like you and Iris.”

“Because he’s rather watch Iris run and he can’t jump hurdles?” Betty snickers. “Remember that time he tried to jump over the couch when she found out he was the one who ruined her art project back in seventh grade?”

“I’d completely forgotten about that,” Joe wheezes with laughter. “Took almost a whole hour to get him to come out of the hall closet and twice as long to clean that mess up.”

Joe’s phone goes off and Betty smiles as she starts cleaning up her work space and shutting things down for the day. When he hangs up, he points the phone at her, “Not a word. That freaky mind-thing you two have is freaky. Have I ever told you that before?”

Betty snorts, “At least once a week.”

“Good,” he nods in satisfaction. “That was Dr. Snow. Seems Barry woke up and before she could do an exam to make sure he was actually okay, he was gone.”

She rolls her eyes. “While you finish your shift, Iris and I will make sure he goes back and gets checked out properly.”

“Make sure you do. We don’t need for something to be wrong and us not know it until he slips back into a coma.”

“Worst case scenario, I’ll borrow your spare handcuffs and we’ll throw him in my trunk.”

Joe looks at her for a long moment. “I can’t tell if you’re joking right now or not. You cannot kidnap your brother.”

“Less ‘kidnapping’ and more ‘forceful medical intervention’,” she shrugs. “It could even be argued that he’s not in complete control of his facilities since we don’t know what effects the lightning might’ve had on his neural and–”

“No forceful anything,” Joe reiterates. A smile lingers at the corner of his lips. “At least not where I or any other law enforcement official might see, and only if he tries to avoid the exam.”

“Agreed,” she laughs. “I’ll even make sure no one’s hands wander to inappropriate territory during the exam. Wells looked a little too excited during the last ‘routine’ exam.”

Joe stares at her. “I think _you_ need examined. We sure that lightning didn’t have any adverse effects on you?”

“Ha ha,” Betty retorts dryly. There are making their way down the stairs, the bullpen in clear view. “Caitlin has been keeping an eye on me just in case.”

“Good, last thing we need is for you to join Barry. Those first few days were more than enough for me.”

They’ve just reached Joe’s desk when Iris steps through the entry way, trying– and failing– to hide a sheepish looking Barry behind her. Before Betty or Joe can summon a reaction, one of the officers– she is _very_ certain it is Hanson– shouts out.

“Thank God, we can all relax. The nice twin is back!”

There are a few cheers and a smattering of good-humored jokes thrown around and Betty rolls her eyes. She’s been doing that a lot this last week. “I am right here and he’s not back on duty yet.”

There are a few groans and someone makes an overly dramatic noise of dying. Betty ignores them as rushes forward, glomming onto her brother. There is a sudden shock and they both jerk at the sudden charge, though neither lets go. Her twin has been in a coma for nine months, a little shock is a price she is more than willing to pay to have him hugging her back. The humming she’s heard since she’d felt him waken dulls even further, becoming a low thrum under her skin as they embrace.

“You ever do something stupid like that again and I will kill you myself,” she threatens tearfully. “I mean it. Seriously, playing with metal chains while it’s storming? You’re supposed to be smart, Bar.”

Barry laughs against her neck, squeezing her tighter. “But seriously, what are the _actual_ chances of being struck by lightning?”

“Apparently very good in your case,” she laughs back.

“Okay, stop hogging the boy already,” Joe laughs from the side.

Betty reluctantly loosens her hold, letting Joe step in and scoop Barry up in a bear hug. Stepping back, she links arms with Iris and they both squeeze each other tight. “He’s awake,” she smiles. “He’s awake and now I’m not in that stupid apartment all by my lonesome anymore and–”

“Maybe you’ll stop terrorizing the poor denizens of CCPD?” Iris cuts in with a smirk.

“ _I_ am not terrorizing _them_ ,” Betty huffs back. “ _They_ are terrorizing _me_.”

Iris snorts. “Sure. That’s why Valores was trying to convince Eddie to pick up his files yesterday.”

“Strange, his file is still sitting on my desk waiting to be picked up,” she hums.

“Because Eddie doesn’t want to chance becoming your next victim,” Iris teases.

Betty rolls her eyes. “Please, like I could ever actually be mean to Eddie. It would be tantamount to kicking a puppy.”

Iris looks ready to argue before she purses her lips and eyes Thawne. She sighs, “You’re right. He’s just so sweet and–”

Betty nudges her, “You start listing all of his qualities and I’m out.”

“Detective West, we got a 5-15 in progress at Gold City Bank. Two dead,” Cindy from dispatch comes up. “Storm’s really picking up on the south side. Grab your rain gear.”

Betty loosens her hold on Iris and they move closer to Barry.

“You take it easy. There’ll be plenty for you to do once you settle in,” Joe is saying to Barry before turning to call out to Eddie. “Let’s go, partner.”

Betty sends him a little wave, “Have fun with Jamis.”

Joe’s steps stutter. “You’re not covering this one?”

“Yea, no. I’m out for the day,” she reminds him. “Singh threatened that at the first sight of overtime he’s grounding me to the lab for the next year.”

“Thank God,” Joe sighs. “You gonna make sure Barry gets back to STAR Labs, right?”

“Of course, and I’ll save the handcuffs as a last resort.”

“You better,” Joe grumbles.

Smiling, she pushes him towards the door just as Eddie catches up. “Good luck, Joe, Eddie.”

“Thanks, Betty,” Eddie smiles tightly.

Betty nods, glancing back upstairs towards Iris. Them hiding their relationship from Joe is really trying on them, but– she glances back at Joe, meeting his eyes just in time for him to roll them– the fact that they think they are successful in hiding it from him can sometimes be even more trying, she things bemusedly.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Barry ducking into the stairwell and thinks for all of two seconds before she follows after him. If he is ducking out and not staying glued to Iris’s side after having woken from a come, something is up. She follows him down to the back exit and comes out in time to see him move from one spot in the alley to another several feet away, _in less than a second_ , before he is suddenly slamming over the trunk of a police cruiser with enough force to shatter the rear window.

Betty’s hands fly to her mouth as she gasps. Barry backs away from the cruiser, his eyes darting around before landing on her. She can see his mind working even as her own does the same. He glances around the alley before turning back to her, a smile spreading.

She can read the exhilaration on his face and as much as she loves anything that can make him smile like that, he has just woken from a coma. She stabs a finger at him, moving to try and grab him. “Bartholomew Henry Allen, don’t you dare–”

And he is gone.

Growling out a breath of frustration, Betty clenches her hands into fists, closes her eyes, and mentally counts down from ten. Releasing her breath on a calmer sigh, she slowly unclenches her fists and takes a few more steadying breaths. Her brother essentially just disappeared. No big deal. Given the little show she saw beforehand she is fairly certain he hadn’t actually _disappeared_ , but maybe something to do with teleportation?

Then again, with that look she’d seen on his face, she would guess it is probably more along the line that he was moving really _really_ fast. In which case, given that he’s just woken from a coma and this is most likely the first time doing this, and the speed he has to be going, chances are he will end up crashing. If he hasn’t already.

She really hopes he lands somewhere soft.

Grimacing to herself, Betty starts walking and makes a note to stop by the store and get Barry a new phone before they hit STAR Labs. She highly doubts Barry has good enough control to steer so if she keeps walking straight ahead, she will find him.

Eventually.

And hopefully in one piece…


	3. Chapter 3

“So, what have we learned?”

Barry gives her an exasperated look.

“When you glare, you look as terrifying as a little hamster,” Betty smirks. “The chipmunk cheeks really help, too. The lesson here is that when you find you can suddenly run a hundred plus miles per hour after being in a coma, _don’t actually try to test it out_. At least not without eating something first. You feel better now?”

He throws a piece of lettuce at her but finishes eating his taco. “I hate you so much.”

“Please, without me you would still be trying to talk your way out of that laundry truck,” she snorts. “By the way, you smell like dirty laundry.”

He shoots her a venomous look and she just laughs more as she snags another taco for herself. “Come on, eat up. I’m betting you haven’t eaten anything since you woke up. Chow down.”

“I don’t want to eat too much. Isn’t there a rule that you’re not supposed to eat before running?”

“That doesn’t apply to coma patients who got abs from lightning. Besides, better you puke from eating too much than fainting from not eating at all.”

“Agreed, no one wants a fainting damsel,” Cisco smiles as he joins them in the STAR Labs RV (“It’s the Mobile Unit,” Cisco keeps correcting her. “Mobile Unit, not RV. Get it right, sister.”). He hands a stack of things to Barry. “Here, put this on.”

Barry eyes the pile, “W-why?”

“Thermodynamics,” Betty tosses out. “Come on, Bar, you’re a scientist. Street clothes won’t let them get as honest a reading as something formfitting and track shorts will cause less friction than regular pants.”

He holds up a set of knee and elbow pads. “And these?”

“Safety first,” Cisco offers. “They’re for in case you crash.”

Betty smirks, “Again.”

Barry hits her with the pads and she laughs as she follows Cisco out. Caitlin and Wells are finishing setting things, Caitlin playing with some program on her tablet.

“You don’t really believe he can run that fast, do you?” Caitlin is asking.

Wells smirks, “Oh, I believe anything is possible and, in a few minutes, maybe you will too.”

Cisco is going through some crates off to the side when they hear Barry coming out. “How’s it fit?”

Barry steps out of the RV, looking about at uncomfortable as Betty has seen him since their mother had explained the differences between girls and boys, but not quite as bad as it had been when Joe sat them all down for ‘The Talk’. Barry shifts, hands twitching like he wants to cover himself up while trying to think of something polite to say. These people had spent the last nine months keeping him alive, after all.

“It’s a little snug,” he finally settles.

“At least you’ll be moving so fast no one’ll see it,” Cisco tries to comfort him, clapping him on the back.

Betty bites back a snort and doesn’t bother being subtle as she takes a picture. Or three. “At least not until I show these to Joe and Iris. Oh, and maybe Felicity. I know she’ll love this. She’s always sending me ab pics. I have to admit, all three are yummy looking, even if one does look like he could be jailbait.” That helmet alone… and all that red spandex, oh, she is making this her background for at least two weeks. Iris will be so proud that she’s finally changed it. She looks up to see Barry staring at her incredulously. “Oh, come on, Felicity assures me that he’s more than legal, he just looks young.”

Barry and Cisco exchange looks.

“Let’s move along,” Wells suggests.

Cisco nods, focusing back on Barry. “Okay, so… Right, see, you thought the world was slowing down. It wasn’t. You were moving so fast, it only looked like everyone else was standing still. Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output and Caitlin your vitals.”

“What do you do?” Barry asks him.

Cisco’s grin widens and he is practically bouncing. “I make the toys, man. Check it.”

He holds up a device of some sort with a lightning bolt emblem. “This is a two-way headset with a camera I modified, typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise or, in your case, potential sonic booms. Which would be awesome.”

He reclaims the helmet for a moment and Barry looks to Betty, stunned, mouthing ‘sonic boom?’. Laughing, she squeezes him in a one-armed hug. “Honestly, I’d be less worried about the sonic boom and more worried about how you’re gonna stop.”

He shoots her a dirty look and she offers him her most sincere smile, stepping back so Caitlin can work. Barry looks the doctor over, his gaze lingering a little too long, prompting Caitlin to ask, “What?”

Barry shakes his head, “Nothing. I just noticed you don’t smile too much.”

“My once promising career in bioengineering is over, my boss is in a wheelchair for life, the explosion that put you in a coma also killed my fiancé,” Caitlin recites flatly. “So this blank expression kind of feels like the way to go.”

Betty winces and offers her twin a conciliatory pat before following Caitlin who tilts her screen so they can both see it. Cisco hands Betty a pair of binoculars with a grin and she readily accepts.

Cisco passes the helmet back to Barry who straps it on, moving into a runner’s position as Cisco sets up a speed radar gun. Betty makes sure to snap another picture for Iris. Barry glances back at them and scowls when he sees her phone. Betty quickly tucks it away and offers him a thumbs up.

Barry rolls his eyes and faces forward again. She watches as his muscles tense, as he takes a slow steadying breath. And then he’s off. Betty’s breath catches in her throat and everything around her fades as she watches him run. She follows him with the binoculars, laughing as she hears him holler through the two-way.

Things are going fine when she sees his steps suddenly falter and she’s moving before anyone can say anything, snagging Caitlin on her way and dragging her towards her car so they can get to Barry who has– once again, surprise, surprise– crashed.


	4. Chapter 4

“It looks like you had a distal radius fracture,” Caitlin says.

Barry looks at the x-ray displayed on the tablet. “Had?”

Caitlin swipes to another x-ray image. “It’s healed. In three hours.”

Both twins gape at her. “How is that even possible?” Barry asks.

“We don’t know,” Caitlin admits. “Yet.”

“You really need to learn how to stop,” Cisco is smirking, showcasing the damaged helmet.

Betty snorts a laugh and even Barry has to grin. Cisco’s attitude is a little infectious, Betty has learned over the last several months. Her humor dies off when Wells wheels in to join them.

“What happened out there today? You were moving pretty well and then something caused you to lose focus.”

Betty reaches over to grab Barry’s hands, offering him a weak smile when he realizes he’d been fidgeting with them again. He only does that when something is really bothering him. “I started remembering something.” He glances at Betty and moves his hands so that he can grasp hers. “When we were eleven, our mother was murdered.”

It is like the entire room shifts at the admission.

“It was late. A sound woke me up. I came downstairs and... I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside the lightning, there was a man. _He_ killed our mom. They arrested our dad... he’s still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder. Everyone, the cops, the shrinks, they’ve... they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed our mom was like me?”

“Well, I think I can say, unequivocally, you are one of a kind.” He glances aside at Betty. “Well, for the most part.”

She snorts, “Yea, I may not be a speedster, but we pretty much have the same face.”

Barry grimaces, “Yea, nothing like looking at you and seeing exactly what I’d look like in makeup.”

“Oh, you don’t have to look at me,” Betty grins widely. “There are photos of when we used to play dress up as kids.”

Barry goes from reluctantly bemused to completely horrified in less than a second.

Cisco outright cackles, “Please share, please.”

“What?” Barry looks at him with betrayal. “No! No sharing!”

Cisco is steadily grinning and nodding, “Oh yea, yes sharing. Sharing is caring, bro.”

Barry is shaking his head in countermand to Cisco and Caitlin lets out a long sigh. Betty just laughs.

“Well, I think Caitlin has all of the readings she needs for today, so you’re free to go,” Wells speaks over the commotion.

“Actually, there is something,” Betty is quick to cut in, stopping Barry mid-escape. “Every time Barry and I touch, we shock each other.”

Wells looks vaguely interested. “Are you sure it’s not static shock?”

“While he was in his coma it happened pretty sporadically so that’s what I put it down to before,” Betty shrugs. “But now it happens all the time.”

She reaches for Barry, holding her hand out for him and he reluctantly returns the gesture. Their hands are parallel to each other and just short of touching when there is a visible spark. Betty pulls her hand away for a moment before putting it right back, only for the spark to occur again.

“This happens every time?” Wells perks up. “Is it the same charge or does it vary on each occurrence?”

“The first time we touched it was a lot stronger,” Barry admits, tucking his hands into his pockets. He doesn’t move away from Betty though. “Every time since has felt about the same.”

“The first shock was more powerful, about the same as the weakest taser setting, but it was like a full-body charge. All the others feel about the same as any normal static shock and it’s typically only at the first point of contact,” Betty offers. “If we stay touching or in really close proximity like when we were sitting earlier, then subsequent touches don’t ignite the spark. But if we get too far apart, more than an inch or so, it resumes.”

“You were affected by the lightning that struck Barry, too, weren’t you?” Cisco jumps in.

Betty nods, “The doctors said the charge hadn’t completely dissipated yet when I touched him and I got shocked.”

“What?!” Barry squawks. “How come- why didn’t you–”

“A lot of things have happened in the last nine months, Bar,” she laughs. “We haven’t really had a chance to sit down and catch up. When I touched you, I got shocked hard enough that it threw me across the room. Unlike you though, my coma was only nine days.”

“How long after the lightning struck did you touch Barry?” Wells asks.

Betty frowns, shrugging, “Seconds? Things were a little hectic at the time so I wasn’t exactly keeping time.”

Cisco turns to Wells, practically vibrating with excitement. “If the lightning was still lingering, with them being in the same exact environment, and they have identical genetic makeup–”

“First off, it’s not identical,” Betty scoffs. “Barry has the Y chromosome while I’m a double X, that’s a major difference right there.”

Caitlin hums from over at the computers. “If all of the factors and variables are similar enough, the results might–”

“Dude, speed twins!” Cisco gushes. “Holy–”

“Let’s everyone calm down for a moment,” Wells calls out. “While it is a possibility, it is not a foregone conclusion. We’ll need to run a few tests first to see if it really is possible.”

“Back to the airfield?” Cisco suggests gleefully.

“No,” Wells smirks. “At least not quite yet.”

“Not any time soon,” Betty corrects. “Especially not after seeing the damage Barry incurred.”

“What?” Barry frowns, “I mean, sure, I got a little hurt, but it’s all healed now.”

She rolls her eyes. Good lord, she is doing that a lot lately. “First off, this is just a theory right now. We don’t know if I have an ability like you and, even if I do, there’s no guarantee our abilities would be the exact same. Even if I got speed, what if I don’t get the healing that comes with it?”

“She has a point,” Caitlin supports her, coming around with a tray. “I’ll take a blood and some skin samples from both of you and we’ll do a comparison to see what, if any, similarities there might be.”

“And then to the airfield?” Cisco suggests.

“No,” Betty sighs. “No airfield. You can have the blood and skin samples and you can do your comparison, and any other tests you want to run, but no experiments.”

“Ms. Allen is right,” Wells gives Cisco a firm look. “Barry started exhibiting signs within hours of waking up.”

“And I haven’t exhibited any,” Betty points out. “It’s been nine months, going on ten as a matter of fact, and nothing.”

“That you’re aware of, at least,” Cisco contends. “It could be something that’s not as obvious. Or it could be latent.”

Betty is ready to shoot him down again when his words hit a chord. She stops, thinking back over everything. She purses her lips, “That is actually a possibility. I think there might be some factors we’re missing. First, I’m pregnant.”

Barry nearly falls over at the admission, his arm slipping out from under him and only Cisco standing beside him keeps him from face planting. “Wha-? Since when?!”

“According to the doctor, Mid-May.”

“Oh my-” Barry breathes out, stepping back more to look her over. “That means you’re, what, five months?”

“Just finished out week twenty,” Betty laughs.

“Mazel tov,” Cisco smiles widely. “Dude, how come we’re just learning about his now, though?”

She shrugs, “Wanted to keep it quiet as long as I could. Iris was the first, followed by our dad and Joe and Eddie. I didn’t tell Singh until the second trimester started. The rest of the precinct found out earlier this week.”

Barry is still eyeing her up and she shakes her head before she unbuttons her jacket and snags his hand, reeling him in closer.

He tries to pull free, “Whoa, stop. What about the shock-thing?”

“It’s been happening throughout the entire pregnancy,” she reminds him. “If it hasn’t affected the baby by now, I doubt it ever will. Well, so long as it isn’t another big shock.”

He looks hesitant for a moment more before he lets her put his hand on her stomach. The baby bump may not be noticeable to the eye, but it is very noticeable to the touch. His eyes widen and he breathes out a reverent breath as he shifts his hand to cup her belly. “Holy crap. You- you’re really pregnant. There’s a baby in there.”

Cisco and Betty both snort. “That’s what I just told you,” she snarks. “And it’s not _a baby_ , it’s your nephew.”

“Nephew, huh?” Barry’s entire face lights up. “I’m going to be an uncle.”

“He’s due sometime between late February and early March. It’ll all be down to his mood.”

Barry’s phone goes off and Betty checks the clock to see it is time for Iris to be getting off. “That’ll be Iris,” she confirms. “The two of you can finish catching up while they run their tests here. You’ve got all of your samples from Barry, right, Caitlin?”

Caitlin nods, bringing a second tray over. “Yes, with all of the samples I collected earlier and the readings we got at the airfield, we have plenty to go off right now.”

Barry looks at her, “Are you sure? I can stay, no problem.”

“Bar, you spent nine months here,” Betty smiles gently. “Go get some fresh air and catch up with Iris. I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you back at our apartment and we have all of today and tomorrow to catch up with each other.”

Barry nods, still a little reluctant as he hugs her. “If you need me, just call. Okay?”

She nods and watches him rush out, at normal speeds this time.

“You said you being pregnant was only one factor,” Wells speaks quietly. “You think there’s another?”

Betty nods even as she holds out an arm for Caitlin. “I think Barry being in a coma might be another.”

“How so?”

“As you’ve all noticed, we’re twins. I knew Barry was awake before you even called. I felt it,” she confesses. “Earlier, I said that the shocks were sporadic when Barry was in his coma, but that’s not completely true. The first few weeks they were, but they settled into a pattern by early February. It would happen about once a week every week for nearly three months.”

“It changed mid-May,” Wells surmises.

“It became twice a week. And then about two months ago, it became daily.”

Caitlin looks up from where she is drawing blood. “That would have been when you first entered your second trimester.”

“Exactly. And today marks the start of week twenty-one.”

“The mid-way point in the pregnancy,” Caitlin glances to Wells. “And the shocks went from daily to every time you touch.”

Cisco looks around, glancing between all of them, “Freaky.”

“Yes, quite,” Wells smirks. “There are any number of explanations for this, but I believe you are right. These are both important factors to be considered and, if I’m surmising correctly, they might even be linked.”

“Like the pregnancy is slowing the onset of any abilities?” Caitlin frowns.

“But I didn’t get pregnant until May,” Betty reminds them. “Why wouldn’t the abilities have manifested in those first five months?”

“It’s possible that any abilities you might have could be linked to your twin,” Wells suggests. “The fact that you spark any time you touch one another is a variable to keep in mind. The spark might be a byproduct of your abilities interacting.”

“What, like we’re both charged? He’s positive, I’m negative?”

Wells gives a thoughtful hum. “Crude analogy, but effectively correct. You were both affected by the same charge, even if at different levels, in the same environmental setting. It’s possible that one, or even both, of you acts as a charge for the other.”

“If that’s the case, it could be that the reason Barry was out for so long was because he hadn’t charged enough,” Cisco is bouncing again.

Caitlin is gathering her collection tray up. “Being pregnant may have weakened or limited your own charge. What your body can handle and what your body with a zygote can handle are two different scenarios.”

“Which would have drawn out the initial charging process,” Betty nods, catching on to what they are saying. “And now, for all that Barry was charged enough to wake up and can operate on his own, my body is still limiting itself because of the baby.”

“It’s a theory for us to start with,” Wells smiles at her. “But if that is the case, it might be a good idea for Caitlin to keep an added eye on you.”

“At least until we know what affect the abilities might have on the baby,” the doctor tries to assure her.

“It’s a good idea,” Betty agrees. “If Barry is going to have these abilities for life, it might be a good idea to see what affects there might be for a number of situations. Such as him carrying a passenger.”

Caitlin pauses mid-step, head tilting to the side. “That’s actually a good idea. We’re not even sure what affect this has on his body, let alone what it would have on someone else’s.”

“Might want to see it varies on the person. Men, women, the elderly, children.”

“Pregnant women,” Cisco adds, shooting her a grin. “Not to mention babies.”

She points a finger at Cisco, “Very good. He’s the baby’s uncle and him having abilities is not going to get him out of babysitting.”

“For now, it might be wise to advise against carrying passengers,” Caitlin recommends. “At least until we can run a few more tests and experiments.”

“Speaking of,” Betty smiles at her. “Just how close are we to being done today?”

Cisco falls over laughing.

Betty glances from him to a smiling Wells. “That close, huh?”

“You don’t have any plans, do you?” Caitlin asks with a wince.


	5. Chapter 5

“I wasn’t the only one affected by the particle accelerator explosion, was I?” Barry demands sharply.

Betty jerks at the hot anger in his tone and looks confused for a short second. Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells exchanging glances clues her in quickly.

“We don’t know for sure,” Wells admits.

“But you suspected,” Betty says.

“You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger. But that’ not true,” Barry says hotly. “So what really happened that night?”

“Well… The accelerator went active, we all felt like heroes. And then it all went wrong.” Wells pushes a button on his wheelchair, pulling up a simulation. “The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Anti-matter, dark energy, x-elements–”

“Those are all theoretical,” Barry frowns.

“And how theoretical are you?” Wells shoots back.

Betty joins Barry in front of the screen, watching the map and taking in the wide burst of dispersion and the lingering pockets of energy that continue to grow. Based on the map, hundreds– if not thousands– of people would have been affected.

“We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City, though we have no way of knowing exactly what– or who– was exposed. We’ve been searching for other meta-humans like yourselves.”

“Meta-humans?”

“That’s what we’re calling them,” Caitlin explains.

“I saw one today, he’s a bank robber. And he can control the weather.”

“This just keeps getting cooler,” Cisco says gleefully.

“This is not cool, alright? A man died!” Barry says angrily. “Mardon must’ve gotten his powers the same way I did, from the storm cloud. He’s still out there! We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”

Barry starts to leave but Wells calls him back, “Barry, that’s a job for the police.”

“Yea, I work for the police.”

“As a forensic assistant,” Wells points out.

“You’re responsible for this,” Barry parries. “For him.”

“What’s important is _you_ , not me,” Wells stresses. “I lost everything. I lost my company, I lost my reputation, I lost my freedom, and then you broke your arm and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world. Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines– _treasures_ – buried deep within your cells. And we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero. You’re not a hero. You’re just a young man who was struck by lightning.”

Barry is hurt beyond belief. It is like all of those times that Joe refused to believe Barry whenever he told him what happened the night their mother died, like all those times Joe told them they couldn’t see Nimo or refused to let them see their dad. Barry looks to Caitlin and Cisco but neither says anything. They don’t side with either man, and if anything that hurts more.

Betty sees him shutting down and tries to reach for him. He shrugs away from her and turns to leave.

“Barry!” He ignores her and leaves and Betty rounds on Wells. “That was completely uncalled for.”

“He needs to–”

“You don’t decide what he needs to do!” Betty snarls. “Even if he is just a forensic assistant, he is still a forensic scientist and he still works for the CCPD. And we all know damn well that this,” she waves towards the screen showing the dispersal. “The police are not equipped to handle something like this. Right now, they don’t believe in anything resembling ‘metas’ and if they try going up against one now, all it will do is get them killed.”

“And you think we’re better equipped?”

“Yes,” she snaps. “I get why you can’t take this to the police, they’ll most likely laugh at you and label you a crackpot, but you’re still better suited. You know about them for starters. And like Barry said, when it comes down to it, you are responsible for this. For _them_.”

“Just because I might be–”

“Not just you,” Betty shakes her head. She turns to Caitlin and Cisco. “All of you were part of this; that makes all of you responsible. You created these people, you are the reason they have these abilities now and not all of them will use those abilities for good like Barry wants to.”

“Regardless, he is too valuable to be risking everything just to play hero,” Wells grits.

“The night our mother was killed, I didn’t wake up when Barry did. He woke up, he went down stairs, and he’s the one who saw our mother being attacked. I didn’t wake up until I heard our father yelling. When I went down, Barry was nowhere in sight and our mother was already dead. I watched as our dad tried to save her and I was there when the police came in and dragged him away from her, throwing him onto the floor like a criminal and forcing the handcuffs on as they read him his rights and accused him of killing his wife. Despite what both of us told the police, no one was willing to listen to two kids, especially when one is going on about a man made of lightning. We were both helpless and we both hate that feeling. Anytime there is someone in need of help, Barry tries to do everything he can to help them. That is the type of person he is, it’s why he joined the CCPD. He doesn’t like being helpless and he doesn’t want anyone else to feel that way either.” Wells is fuming but she can tell that he is honestly thinking about it and that is what she really wants. She glances to see that she’s getting to Caitlin and Cisco as well. “You say he can’t risk himself just to play hero, but the truth is that he will do it with or without your help. But he stands a much better chance with it. And he’ll do a better job, too.”

Nodding to herself, Betty gathers her things to leave. She pauses at the doorway, shooting Wells a look over her shoulder. “What you said earlier, it may’ve been to try and make him actually think through whatever he was planning might’ve been to try and protect him, but you were an ass about it. When he comes back, as much as it might hurt, you should probably apologize.”

She doesn’t wait to see his reaction.

She gets in her car and drives by route. She sighs when she reaches her destination, climbing out of her car and making sure to lock it as she leaves. This isn’t necessarily a bad area, but it isn’t the nicest either. And while there seems to be some unspoken rule against touching her, she doesn’t trust that to extend to her car, too.

When she steps into the warmth a moment later, a few of the more daring patrons offer her nods but for the most part she is ignored as she claims a stool at the bar.

“What it gonna be?” The bartender demands, already getting a glass ready.

She offers her best smile, “Gonna tell me if the boss is in?”

“If the boss wanted to see ya, he’d already be seein’ ya,” he snorts. “Now, you gonna drink or not?”

“I’ll take a ginger.”

“Ginger?” The bartender turns to look at her and is ready to say something when a woman quickly steps in.

“I got this one, go work the other end,” she snaps at him. She shakes her head as fills a tumbler with ginger ale. “I was starting to think you’d finally thrown in the towel.”

“Aw, Shirley, you wound me,” she smiles. “He should’ve figured by now that I’m gonna keep coming until he says otherwise.”

“Yea, he’s just gotta tell you to your face, right?”

“Got it in one.”

Shirley shakes her head. “You been coming here every day for four months. You ain’t hard to read, sweetheart.”

Betty focuses on her glass, lazily dragging a finger along the rim. “You’d think he’d’ve gotten the message by now that we need to talk.”

“Men, honey, they live by their own tune and the boss, he ain’t no different.”

Betty laughs, taking a drink like it is something much finer. And wishing it was, too. “He doesn’t live by his own tune, he writes his own. But I’m stubborn, he should know this by now. Eventually he’ll get the balls enough to face me again.”

Shirley chortles, “Keep talking about him like that and he might just come for you yet. Might not be the meeting you’re looking for though.”

“He has a key whenever he’s ready,” Betty smirks back. “He’s the one who decided to sneak out in the middle of the night like a coward. If anyone has a right to be mad, it’ll be me.”

Betty’s phone goes off and she checks to see it is a CCPD number. She sends Shirley an apologetic smile as she answers. “This be the meaner twin, what doth thou desire?”

“Wanna help me poke through old unsolved cases?” Barry asks hesitantly.

“Am I getting paid for this?”

“Uh… with pizza?”

She purses her lips in thought. “Jalapeno and pepperoni?”

“That is disgusting,” Barry states flatly. “And aren’t you supposed to be avoiding spicy things?”

“You really want to deny me food?” Betty snorts. It’s official, you’re the nice but stupid one, and I’m the mean but smart one.”

“Very funny. Fine, but I’m adding black olives and if you get heartburn later, I’m not rubbing your back and you can get your own antacids.”

“Deal.”

She downs the rest of her drink and glances to Shirley. “Still on the house?”

“Of course,” Shirley smiles, handing her another can.

“See, with encouragement like that, how can a girl not keep coming back?” Betty accepts the drink.

Shirley scoffs and pops her with her rag. “You’re just a cheap date. Now get, I heard something about food and you’re far too skinny for my liking.

“See you tomorrow, Shirley.”

“Yea, yea. Get goin’, girlie. Eat an extra slice for me.’


	6. Chapter 6

Betty offers Cisco and Caitlin a tight smile as they join her and Barry where they have spread out their haul. “Sorry for calling you here at ass o’clock in the morning, but Barry and I haven’t been to bed yet.”

“We’ve been going over unsolved cases for the past nine month,” Barry explains. “And there’s been a sharp increase in explained deaths and missing people.”

Betty tries to be gentle as she says, “In other words, your metas have been busy.”

Caitlin and Cisco exchange guilty glances and Barry rushes on, “Now, I’m not blaming you. I know you didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I know you all lost something, but I need your help to catch Mardon and anyone else out there like him. But I can’t do it without you.”

The two exchange glances again and seem to be having a silent conversation. Cisco must see something in Caitlin’s look that signals her capitulation because he starts grinning.

“If we’re gonna do this,” his grin turns just a touch smug. “I have something that might help.”

He practically skips out of the room and Caitlin rolls her eyes as she moves to the main computer. Barry casts Betty a questioning look and she shrugs as she pulls him along to follow after Cisco. “They’re willing to help and he’s offering you one of his toys. You may not realize this yet, but that boy is possessive of his toys, Bar.”

Barry flushes, looking off to the side, “Yea, hopefully it’s something better than what he had at the airfield.”

“Aww, but you were so adorable,” Betty coos playfully. “And Felicity says it is now her contact pic for you.”

“You didn’t!” Barry groans. “Oh my God, Betty, please say you’re joking.”

She shakes her head, “Nope. But I’ll give it a few more days and when she sends me an ab pic, I’ll reply with one of my own. I’m pretty sure it’ll become your new pic.”

“That’s not much better,” he groans again, hands tearing through his hair. “Oliver is going to kill me. He’s going to see and he’s going to put an arrow in me.”

“No he won’t,” she rolls her eyes. “And even if he does, at least now you’ll heal.”

Barry squawks and she laughs.

Cisco leads them into one of the side rooms, his grin practically taking up his entire face as he moves towards a large display rack. “Something I’ve been playing with,” he says proudly, showcasing a full-body suit. “It’s designed to replace the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear. I thought if STAR Labs could do something nice for the community, maybe people wouldn’t be so angry at Dr. Wells anymore.”

“How is it gonna help?” Barry asks, eyeing it over. He may be trying to play it cool but Betty can hear the edge of excitement. With the way his eyes are glued to thing, she is starting to wonder if they need to draw up a custody agreement between him and Cisco.

“It’s made of reinforced tri-polymer,” Cisco explains. “It’s heat and abrasive resistant so it should withstand your moving at high-velocity speeds. And the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control. Plus, it has built-in sensors so we can track your vitals and stay in contact with you from here.”

“Thanks,” Barry says, finally tearing his eyes away from the suit. “Now how do we find Mardon?”

Caitlin comes in right on cue, playing on her trusty tablet. “I re-tasked STAR Labs’ satellite to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City.” Everyone is quick to gather around her to view the satellite image. “We just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure dropped twenty millibars in a matter of seconds. I’ve tracked it to a farm just west of the city.”

Betty looks closer, “That’s where Joe and Chyre cornered the brothers before.”

Barry looks at her, excitement already building.

She rolls her eyes again, “Get suited up.

There is a flurry of wind and in less than a second Barry is standing in front of them in the suit. She looks him over, noting the suit seems to be perfectly tailored to him. She casts a look towards Cisco who is adamantly avoiding her gaze as he attaches something to the side of the cowl.

“Be careful,” she tells Barry. “I mean it. Just because you can heal faster now is no reason to be careless.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he smarts back.

He is gone before she can retaliate and Caitlin and Cisco are both grinning now. “Brothers,” she sighs. “You miss them like crazy when they’re gone– or, you know, in a coma– but when they’re around all you want to do is smother them with a pillow and make it look like an accident since they’re practically glued to the thing in their sleep anyway.” Cisco had started off nodding but now he is looking at her askance. “I have pics which I am more than willing to share.”

“No, no more sharing!”

Betty jerks at the sound of Barry’s voice but quickly realizes it is coming from the computer station. The three reconvene at the monitors, Cisco taking over the satellite imagery and Caitlin double checking Barry’s vitals.

“I modified the headset and was able to make it a little smaller, though that means we no longer have video,” Cisco says. “Thankfully we have the satellite imagery to help make up for that.”

“Speaking of,” Betty frowns as she focuses on the monitors. “She points to a section, “Am I seeing things or is that a tornado?”

Cisco looks. “That is… that is definitely a tornado, and it’s gathering fast. It’s already an F-4.”

There is suddenly an alert and Betty turns to Caitlin. “What was that?”

“Uh, nothing?” Barry hedges. “Joe’s ere, by the way.”

Betty winces. On one hand, he is in the middle of a meta attack. On the other hand, he is seeing a meta with his own eyes. Barry had told her all about Joe snapping at him yesterday, so in a way this is kind of good. She grimaces, “Guess he’s starting to believe now.”

“Barry, Barry,” Cisco calls to get his attention back. “This thing is getting closer. Wind speeds are two-hundred miles per hour and increasing. Barry, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” Barry replies.

“If this keeps up, this could become an F-5 tornado.”

“And it’s heading towards the city,” Barry informs them. “How do I stop it?” Caitlin and Cisco look lost, eyes racing across the screens. “Guys?”

Betty’s mind races, eyes darting across the monitors and noting the various readouts. “Do you think it might be possible to unravel it?”

“How would he do that?” Caitlin frowns.

“She’s right,” Barry says. “If I run around it in the opposite direction, I can cut off its legs.”

Cisco looks to Caitlin, “He’d have to clock seven-hundred miles per hour to do that.”

“Your body may not be able to handle those speeds,” Caitlin denies. “You’ll die.”

There is a pause on Barry’s end. “I have to try.”

Betty’s heart is racing, knowing he is going to do it anyway. She turns to Caitlin. “In the tests earlier, did he show _any_ signs of stress? Was there any indication that something wasn’t right in even the least?”

Caitlin slowly shakes her head. “But he didn’t even reach four-hundred before, there’s no way of knowing he’ll be able to handle an increase of this magnitude.”

Betty shakes her head, “Even with a jump this big, if he wasn’t showing any signs of stress earlier then there’s a chance he can hold up against this. Try, Bar. But you better be careful as hell.”

Betty holds tight to the back of Caitlin’s chair, keeping a close eye on the screen displaying Barry’s health.

Cisco is monitoring the suit, an excited chuckle escaping, “Suit’s holding up.”

“But he’s not,” Caitlin worries.

Betty shakes her head, eyes locked on his readouts. “He’s doing fine.”

“He can do it,” Cisco agrees adamantly. “I know he can do it.”

There is a sudden spike in his vitals and his speed drops down. Betty reaches over to squeeze Cisco’s shoulder as he jerks in disappointment.

“It’s too strong,” Barry huffs.

“You can do this, Barry.”

All three of them turn in surprise to see Wells has somehow snuck up on them, claiming the far right end of the monitors.

“You were right,” he is saying now. “I am responsible for all this. So many people have been hurt because of me and when I looked at you, all I saw was another potential victim of my hubris. And yes, I created this madness. But you, Barry, you can stop it. You can do this. Now run, Barry, run!”

Barry takes off again and Caitlin and Cisco are both watching with anticipation. Betty finds herself holding her breath as his speed climbs, watching the simulation of the tornado until they all hear a loud noise come through the comms. Barry’s speed drops to a halt and his vitals are showing high levels of stress and exhaustion. They watch as the tornado dissipates, the radar clearing once more.

The room is completely quiet. “Barry?”

“Barry, answer us,” Betty demands when he doesn’t respond.

They hear a sudden burst of panting before an unknown voice comes through, “Hey.”

They exchange worried glances. It has to be Mardon.

“I didn’t think there was anyone else like me,” Clyde Mardon says.

“I’m not like you,” Barry denies. “You’re a murderer.”

The sound of gunshots has them jumping in their seats and Betty quickly leans over Caitlin, seeing a quick spike in Barry’s vitals.

“Barry?” Caitlin yells.

Betty notes the spike is relatively minor and the monitor isn’t beeping in sudden alarm. She starts choking on air as relief floods through her. “Barry? Bar, I know you weren’t hit so you better answer, dammit!”

“It’s over,” Barry finally answers. “I’m okay.”

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and Betty feels laughter bubbling up. “Oh my God, I swear to all that is holy, Bartholomew Henry Allen, you’re either going to give me a heart attack or send me into early labor.”

She hears Barry laugh and everyone starts to relax. They’d actually done it. They’d brought down a meta.


	7. Chapter 7

Betty isn’t really sure how she thought things would be once Barry woke up, but she somehow doubts it is how things have turned out. She hadn’t expected things to go back to normal, nine months had passed after all, but maybe some semblance of normal? She’d been stuck in Starling for a two-week seminar and had missed all of the fun with ‘Multiplex’, as Cisco insists on calling Danton Black, as well as the whole drama of everyone finding out about Cisco and Barry’s non-meta related vigilantism. She’s actually glad to have missed the second part because she doubts she would have been able to hold her temper. She hates people who try to put Barry down, even inadvertently.

Nonetheless, when she gets back to Central, instead of going home her first stop is at STAR Labs for a checkup with Caitlin. A checkup which gets interrupted by Barry and Joe coming in asking for some help with their most current case which just so happens to involve a meta. Hence, the not-normal aspect of her life now. Well, more so than the whole her twin being a meta and she might possible be one as well thing.

“She knows?” Joe asks when Betty comes into the room they’ve convened in. His mouth twists wryly. “Of course she knows.”

Betty can’t help laughing at his tone as she claims a seat in the corner. “You remember that cruiser that needed a window replaced the day Barry woke up?”

Joe looks confused for a moment but Barry shifts uncomfortably, giving himself away. Joe gives him a look that somehow manages to convey both disappointment and longsuffering acceptance.

“It was an accident!” Barry defends. “It’s not like I meant to break the window!”

“Supersonic boom?” Betty offers, lips twitching with amusement. She can feel Joe shifting his look to her but she doesn’t take her eyes off the screen showing the readout of her most recent exam in comparison to the one from two weeks ago.

“Fascinating,” Wells intones, absorbing what Barry and Joe had filled them all in on. “A metahuman that can manipulate poison gas.”

The geek squad falls into their typical back and forth, excited chittering filling the room. Barry finally seems to notice Joe’s look, his complete lack of enthusiasm, and tries to apologize for the STAR Labs crew, “They get excited about this stuff.”

“Ridiculously so at times,” Betty supports. She shuts down her tablet and reluctantly leaves her little corner to join the rest of them.

“The only thing I’m excited about is putting criminals behind bars,” Joe says. His voice conveys just how unimpressed he is with the entire situation. “Except Iron Heights isn’t exactly equipped to handle meta-humans.”

“Not to mention that people aren’t exactly aware of their existence just yet,” Betty mumbles. Joe gives her another look which she once more ignores, fighting down a smirk.

“Then I guess it’s fortunate the ones you’ve encountered so far are no longer with us,” Wells replies.

Barry shifts uneasily, no doubt thinking about Black. Betty reaches behind Joe, finger lightly poking Barry. He jumps at the shock and the two exchange small smiles at what has quickly become the equivalent of a hug or a sign of reassurance/support for them.

Joe looks a little upset by the barb as well. “Well, unless we’re planning on executing every super-criminal we stop–”

“Let’s not,” Betty vetoes. “Heroes/Vigilantes here, not to mention civil servants, so let’s focus more on rehabilitating and less on killing, right?”

“You geniuses are gonna have to come up with some place else to hold them.”

Cisco looks entirely too intrigued by the idea. “A metahuman prison. Sweet.”

“Until we figure a way to remove their powers,” Wells agrees.

“Or a way to limit them,” Betty counters. She gets a few strange looks but shrugs them off. “Not everyone we come against is going to be bad, right? Some might just need help.”

Cisco is the first who seems to agree. A moment later he is glancing askance at Caitlin and Wells. “There is one place here that might hold ‘em.”

Wells and Caitlin both turn to him when they realize what he’s talking about. “You can’t be serious. I mean, we haven’t been down there since the…” Caitlin’s voice wobbles and her eyes go to Wells imploringly. “It’s cordoned off.”

“Cisco is right. It could be modified to act as a makeshift prison.”

Barry looks between the three of them, lost. “What could?”

Betty’s pretty sure she already knows where this is going, based off Caitlin’s reaction alone, and doesn’t need to hear Wells confirm it.

“The particle accelerator.”

Barry’s eyes flash to Caitlin and Joe is shifting beside Betty, uncomfortable as he comes to the same realization. Cisco looks a little uncomfortable himself but he and Wells are quick to get moving. Wells takes the time to try to get Caitlin’s attention when she doesn’t follow them.

“Did you hear me?” He asks when she doesn’t make a move to leave with them. “We’re going down to the accelerator ring.”

“Actually, Dr. Wells, I could use Caitlin’s help identifying the poison gas,” Barry offers quickly. Caitlin, who looks close to tears, gives him a look of gratitude. Wells glances between the two of them, obviously reluctant.

“That might not be a bad idea,” Betty says. “While you two work on that, I can handle the regular log. That way we don’t get too behind in the lab.”

“Yea,” Joe agrees, quickly catching on. He gives Betty a pointed look. “I’d really rather you not handle too many poisonous substances right now, especially potentially sentient ones.”

“Okay,” Wells finally capitulates.

“If that’s okay with you?” Barry tacks on, checking with Caitlin.

Caitlin nods, more than happy for the reprieve. “Let’s go.”

They take their leave before Wells can change his mind. The drive to the station is quiet and Barry is smiling proudly as they enter the bullpen, “Welcome to the CCPD.”

Caitlin returns his smile, eyes going around the room. “So this is your day job?” Barry nods. “Wow.”

An officer passes between them escorting an obviously drugged out, and maybe a tad bit psychotic, perp who yells out, “I’m gonna rip out your hearts and eat them for lunch.”

“Delightful,” Caitlin murmurs.

“Lab rats, I need prints off this gun, pronto.” Detective Mitsula demands, slapping an evidence bag to Barry’s chest as she walks by.

Barry’s face falls and Betty’s eyes follow after the Detective. “Guess what just went to the bottom of my log?”

“Allen!” They both turn to see Hanson storming up. “Where the hell is the fiber analysis on the Orloff case?”

“Upstairs,” Barry rushes to assure him. “It’s all- it’s all finished. I can just run up and bring it down?”

Barry suits actions to words, heading for the lab. Hanson is quick to follow.

“With you, that could be three days from now. I’ll go with you.” He notices Caitlin following along. “Who are you?”

“Dr. Caitlin Snow,” she answers. “Barry’s personal physician.”

Betty sees the way Hanson takes Caitlin in and knows exactly where his mind has gone. “Caitlin was Barry’s primary care physician while he was in his coma and as such she’s the most familiar with his case. Since he’s woken, we asked that she continue caring for him to be sure the lightning didn’t have any adverse effects.”

“Really? I don’t see you with a personal physician.”

“I care for Betty as well,” Caitlin refutes.

“Besides, I’m not the one who was in a coma for nine months and decided to jump straight into work after waking up.”

“No, you just went and got knocked up by the first guy you met.”

Hanson’s eyes widen even as he says it and Caitlin’s eyes narrow. Betty shrugs, “Technically, he and I met before the whole ‘mini-coma’ thing. We dated for six months and he left before I realized I was pregnant, it’s not like I got knocked up on purpose.”

“Wait, the father doesn’t know?” Caitlin frowns. “I thought he just wasn’t involved.”

Betty grimaces, hearing the slight tone of accusation. “It’s not like I chose not to tell him, I was planning to! He just… he left before I found out and I haven’t quite managed to track him down yet.”

“You know I could always help with that, right?” Hanson smirks. Betty knows that smirk and she does not like that smirk.

She sends him an arch look, “I know about the betting pool you lot have going on how Joe will react when he meets the father.” Hanson’s face falls. “I’m not using police resources to track down my wayward ex just so money can exchange hands.”

They come around the corner to the lab to find Barry already waiting. “The fiber analysis for the Orlof case. Like you asked for. Sir.”

Hanson looks a little taken aback at it already being done and Betty bites her tongue, knowing Barry is partly playing it cool because Caitlin is with them. And because getting one up on any of the Detectives is always a score for their tally board.

He takes another look at the finished analysis, which is apparently exactly what he is looking for, giving him less reason to harass Barry, before his eyes dart around their lab. “Clean up your lab. It’s a mess.”

He gives Caitlin another look as he turns to go.

“It’s not a mess,” Betty calls after him. “It’s called organized chaos so you Detectives can’t go snooping where you shouldn’t.”

“It’s still a mess,” Hanson calls back.

“I’ll clean my lab when you clear out that pool,” she retorts.

She turns back to see Barry giving her a weird look. “What pool?”

Betty and Caitlin exchange looks. “Soo… Remember how I said the father isn’t involved?”


	8. Chapter 8

It isn’t the most awkward conversation she’s ever had, but it does come close. They may have caught up on plenty since Barry’s woken, but Betty had carefully danced around the subject of her ex. She knows Barry won’t judge her too harshly, but the crushed look he gave her when she finished is just as bad. It only holds the slightest bit of judgement but there is also an abundance of pity.

She quickly steers him back to his objective at hand and starts on their log for the day. It has actually been a slow day so far so there is very little for her to do. There is even littler for Barry and Caitlin. Betty lets herself get absorbed in her work, trying not to eavesdrop too much. It’s not like she is purposely listening or anything, but the lab isn’t that big and they’d arranged it in a way that they can easily talk to one another from across the room without having to raise their voices. Nonetheless she tries to be polite, especially when Barry asks Caitlin about Ronnie.

The two women had talked some when Betty visited Barry while he was in his coma, but for both of them the ‘loss’ had been a little too fresh to talk too much. She idly listens as Caitlin talks about her fiancé, tuning in a bit more when the subject switches to their meta. She’s just finished printing Mitsula’s gun when they get the results from their sample.

“Why would a chemical attack leave behind another person’s DNA inside the victim?” Caitlin is asking.

“What if the meta-human we’re looking for doesn’t control gas?” Barry speculates. “What if he becomes it?”

“In which case these attacks are definitely of a personal nature,” Betty says. “No offense, but if I turned into gas I wouldn’t be going inside just anybody. Either they seriously pissed someone off or they just happened to get in the way of whoever he was after.”

“What are the chances these are going to be his only victims?” Caitlin asks hopefully.

Their police scanner answers her moments later. “All available units, we have a report of a toxic gas attack in the Central City Shopping Mall.”

Betty sighs as Barry gets up, Caitlin chasing after him and trying to convince him to wait until they know more. Betty shuts down her computer and makes sure everything is locked up before goes to Barry’s side of the lab and repeats the process. Caitlin is staring after Barry, looking torn between heartbreak and utter frustration. Betty doesn’t have it in her to ask just what is going through the other woman’s mind, instead she steers her out of the lab and rushes them to STAR Labs.

They have no idea what they are dealing with here and Barry rushing in could end any number of ways. If something does go wrong, having Caitlin there waiting will help. She may have driven a little faster than strictly necessary but when they rush into the Cortex to find Barry laid out on one of the medical beds, she feels every bit as vindicated as she does worried.

“Cut me open,” Barry wheezes to Caitlin even as he tries to wave Betty away when she approaches the bed. “The poison is still in me.”

Betty glares him down and moves around Wells so she can stand near his head, taking his hand and running her hands through his hair to try and ease him.

“He brought a sample,” Wells’s voice is entirely too eager for Betty’s tastes. “Caitlin, we need a pulmonary biopsy. Extract and active portion of the gas.”

Betty’s hand tightens on Barry’s when Caitlin warns him, “I can’t give you anesthetic. Your metabolism will burn through it.”

“I heal quick,” Barry tries to reassure her. “Remember?”

“Do it,” Wells instructs.

Betty wants to glare at the damn man but she can’t exactly refute him. Barry chose to do this and as much as she wants to bash the little idiot’s head against a wall, she can’t. Instead she squeezes Barry’s hand and offers a weak semblance of a hug as she watches Cisco pass Caitlin what is a terrifyingly large needle.

She is almost happy when Barry passes out from the pain. When Caitlin extracts the needle, Betty reluctantly steps away from her brother and takes the sample. “I’ll start an analysis going on this. You keep an eye on the idiot, yea?”

Caitlin offers a weak nod, hands starting to shake as she passes over the syringe. Betty returns the smile and makes quick work of the sample. The STAR Labs set up is a lot more advanced than what they have at the CCPD but it isn’t that hard to figure out. Even with the advanced setup, it will take a while for the analysis to finish so Betty sets up a remote link so that she will get an alert on her tablet when it finishes.

She checks with Caitlin and once she is sure her twin is out of danger, that his lungs are completely free of the poison and healed, that he is just sleeping at this point, she decides to get some fresh air.

“I have it set up so I’ll get an alert when the analysis finishes. I’m going to get some fresh air before I decide to smother the idiot.” Caitlin smiles and offers to call her when Barry wakes and she nods gratefully before heading to her usual haunt.

Shirley already has her glass of ginger ale waiting when she comes in and Betty offers a tired smile as she accepts it.

“Things in Starling that bad, huh?” Shirley asks.

Betty shakes her head. “Starling was pretty quiet from where I was. Spent the last two weeks being reminded how to properly do my job and being informed of some of the new methods which aren’t actually all that new,” she laughs.

“So why d’you look like you ain’t slept in a week?” Shirley grouses.

“I sleep plenty,” Betty tries to appease. “My twin is just trying to put me in an early grave.”

Shirley slows in cleaning the glass in her hand. “You bein’ literal or…”

“Bit of both? You heard about the Darbinyans?” Shirley doesn’t give any reaction but given their locale, it would have been impossible for her not to have heard about it by now. “He got a little too close and inhaled some of the poison. The doctor says he’s fine now, it wasn’t enough to deal any real harm but it had him gasping and he ended up passing out. Had us real worried.”

“I’ll bet. Boy just got out of a coma, immune system is probably shit,” Shirley shakes her head, going back to cleaning her glasses. “So, you got any leads on that yet?”

Betty shakes her head morosely. “You happen to know anyone who has a grudge against the Darbinyans and a certain judge, Theresa Howard?”

“The woman from the mall?” Betty looks up, surprised word has already spread that fast. Shirley points to the little TV she keeps behind the bar which is always turned to the news. “All they’ve been talkin’ ‘bout.”

Betty rolls her eyes, “Of course. So, know of anyone who fits the bill?”

“Not that’s still kickin’.”

Betty is ready to put her head down and call it a night when another thought occurs to her. “What about those?”


	9. Chapter 9

It honestly isn’t that far of a leap. Of the three metas they have seen so far, one had been in a coma and the other two were presumed dead. Even it is a small sample pool, Betty still goes into work the next morning and pulls up the records of anyone who had gone missing or who were presumed dead– even those that had been pronounced dead just to be safe–the night of the particle accelerator explosion. She expands the search to cover the following two weeks because some reports really do fall between the cracks. By the time she is done she has a pretty extensive list. And these are just the ones reported, there is no telling what the actual number could be like but this is a start.

When she gets a ping that their ‘Mist’ analysis is complete, she makes her way to STAR labs with a file in hand.

“Perfect timing,” Cisco smiles when she joins them. “This is a 3D molecular model of the gas we retrieved from Barry’s lungs.”

“We identified the toxin,” Wells says. Betty thinks it is a little redundant since Cisco already has the model up.

Barry studies the diagram, frowning. “Hydrogen cyanide?”

“What’s interesting is what’s mixed in with the cyanide,” Wells points out. “A sedative.”

“Of course,” Barry practically smacks his forehead, mind going miles. “The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed.”

“Kyle Nimbus,” Betty holds up the file she’s brought, basking in the looks she gets from the others. “Hey, unlike _someone_ , I actually wanted to be a detective. I just settled for forensic scientist and even then it took Joe forever to come around.”

Barry is already looking through the file, eyes catching on the mugshot. “This is him.”

“How’d you make that leap?” Wells questions.

“I asked around,” she shrugs. “The gas was what fully brought it together before I even looked at the full file.”

Barry nods. “That particular sedative is given to criminals on death row before they go to the gas chamber and breathe in hydrogen cyanide.”

Caitlin is pulling up a few articles for the others to look over, giving them cliff notes as she goes. “Nimbus was a hit man for the Darbinyan crime family.”

“Until they turned and testified against him,” Betty adds. “Judge Howard was the one who oversaw his trial.”

“She sentenced him to death,” Caitlin provides.

“He must have been affected by the explosion while he was being gassed,” Wells extrapolates.

Cisco’s eyes  catch on a certain point, confused. “Records say the execution was completed.”

“That’s why there wasn’t a match,” Barry glances to Caitlin.

Betty nods. “The database only has records of the living so when you ran the DNA, it couldn’t be matched to his. I could have pulled up the sample that’s archived for a definitive match but since he’s dead and all that would’ve left a trail that we really don’t want right now.”

“He said there was one more person on his list. Who caught him?” Betty is mumbling to himself, flipping through the file. “That could be his next attack.”

Betty straightens. She’d glanced over the file this morning but it never occurred to her that he’d want to go after the cop who’d arrested him, not when there were so many others more directly involved. But if he targeted the judge…

“Chyre was the one to arrest him,” she tells them.

“But he’s dead now.”

“Yea, but Joe’s not,” she stresses. “Joe was the senior officer so he would’ve been listed as the lead detective on the case.”

Barry has his phone out in a flash and Betty’s worry mounts when he obviously doesn’t get an answer. He keeps trying and Betty almost breathes a sigh of relief when he finally gets an answer, until she realizes it is Eddie who informs them Joe is visiting Iron Heights. Caitlin is already working on something in her lab and Betty can see Cisco going through files on his tablet. It doesn’t take long to recognize the blueprints of Iron Heights Prison.

“Cisco?” He glances up, eyes a little wild, darting back down to the blueprints. “Barry and I have known our father is innocent since he was first arrested. We may have joined the CCPD to try to prove his innocence, but we also came up with a few backup plans just in case.”

“Okay…”

“We’ve been planning different ways to break into and out of Iron Heights since we were eleven,” she smiles tightly. “He’s got this angle covered. Since we know exactly what we’re dealing with and what he can do, why don’t we focus on making sure that makeshift cells will hold?”

Cisco looks at his tablet again, looking torn, before finally nodding. “Caitlin’s working on an antidote for the poison so I’ll grab Dr. Wells and see if he’ll help me. We already have most of it ironed out and the cell is pretty much done but we do need to go over and make sure it will work with the new info we’ve gotten.”

She nods, “Thank you, Cisco. I’ll go see if Caitlin needs any help.”

It doesn’t take them very long to finish the antidote and once he has it, Barry is gone before the two women make it back to their seats. They exchange glances, both smiling weakly as the readouts on Barry and the suit are queued, following the little dot that marks Barry’s location as it arrives at Iron Heights.

It is a little hard to figure out exactly what is happening without any video, but the low hiss of the antidote being administered doesn’t need any explaining.

“He gave the antidote to Joe,” Caitlin breathes, worry clear.

“So, you come to finish what the gas chamber couldn’t?” Nimbus’s voice carries through the speakers.

“You’re going somewhere you can’t hurt anyone ever again,” Barry replies.

“Wrong.”

“You need to stay away from him, Barry,” Caitlin tells him, worried about their lack of an antidote. “Do not breathe him in.”

They watch as Barry’s dot zips along the road leading away from the prison, moving in small jolts. “I’m not sure how that helps me, guys.”

His dot reverses directions, no doubt charging Nimbus. “You can’t fight him,” Caitlin practically sighs, glancing towards Wells for guidance. “Just…. Keep him coming at you, that should zap his strength.”

Wells looks over from his end of the station, where he and Cisco are pouring over equations. “Gas is the least stable form of matter. This meta-human will not be able to stay in his mist form for long, his particles will need to reform.”

Betty nods along, eyes locked on Barry’s vitals. “In other words, play some cat and mouse and wait for him to run out of energy. Once he reforms, you’ll have a window to hit him.”

His dot starts zapping along again, racing down the road in bursts before it goes careening off to the side. Betty sits forward, listening intently. There is the sound of labored breathing and it is quiet for a second before the dot jerks forward several feet. There is the sound of a light impact and the line goes quiet again.

“Barry?” Wells calls out, wheeling down to her and Caitlin. “Barry?”

There is a heavy breath before Barry comes across triumphant, “We win.”

Everyone practically deflates in their seats and Betty laughs softly. “Gloat later, Bar. Think you’re capable of carrying him back or do we need to send someone to pick you up?”

“Nah, I got this.”

Betty nods and leans back, watching as everyone moves around her. Cisco goes down to check on the makeshift cell and Caitlin heads into the med-area where Barry arrives to deposit an unconscious Kyle Nimbus. She watches as Caitlin looks the man over, giving him a checkup and taking a few samples for them to study. They need to be sure that what they’ve seen is the extent of his abilities, not to mention getting starting on seeing about a possible cure. Wells disappears at some point, Betty assumed to either check on the cell with Cisco or to his office.

Barry appears in front of her in his normal clothes, smiling sheepishly and a little tired. They both choose to wait, wanting to make sure everything is handled before they leave. It doesn’t take them long. Cisco comes up a few minutes later assuring them the cell is ready and he and Barry wheel the medical bed down, carefully transferring Nimbus onto the cell cot before leaving, sealing the door behind them.

“Hey, I’m fixing to head to the hospital to check on Joe,” Barry offers. “Want to come with?”

Betty debates it for a moment before she shakes her head. “No, I’ll wait her until Nimbus wakes up and make sure he really is away safely and then I’ll follow. Just make sure to take the bus, okay? Joe is probably just getting there so give them a little time before you go busting in.”

Barry laughs but nods, leaving at a normal speed for once.

She watches him go and as much as she wants to follow to check on Joe herself, she also wants to stay and be sure everything is handled here. The door of the cell is transparent so they are able to watch as Nimbus wakes. Realization is a little slow in coming but when it does, he gets angry quick, transforming into a cloud of gas. He switches between his two forms, yelling and repeatedly banging against the door and no doubt trying to find a crack for his gas to slip through, but it is all to no avail.

“Will it hold?” Caitlin asks.

Betty was seconds away from asking herself. It is a valid worry, watching how the gas completely fills the cell.

“The barrier’s powered by an 8.3 tesla super-conducting electromagnet, which is about one-hundred thousand times the strength of Earth’s magnetic field,” Cisco answers absently, enthralled by the sight before them.

Betty nods but sees Caitlin’s look which prompts Wells to translate, “In other words, yes.”

They continue to watch Nimbus banging away.

Wells lets out a low breath that almost sounds amused. “He’s mad.” They watch for a second more before he pushes a button to close the outer door of the pipeline. “Well, good night.”

“So we’re just supposed to get used to working above a makeshift prison housing evil people with superpowers?”

Wells is smirking, whether at Caitlin’s question or still amused by Nimbus is unclear. “You’d be surprised what you can get used to, Caitlin.”

He wheels around and leaves, Caitlin and Cisco turning to follow. Betty doesn’t make any move to leave herself, eyes locked on the doors that lead to what is undoubtedly the start of their meta-prison. She knows Caitlin isn’t comfortable with keeping people in their ‘basement’, neither is she for that matter, but somehow she doubts it is for the same reasons.

They have talked about it some before, but like they’ve all said, the general public doesn’t know about metas yet and the police aren’t quite ready to handle them. Not to mention that there really isn’t any place else to hold them. But just locking people up, even if they are undoubtedly dangerous, it doesn’t sit right with her. They are supposed to be being the Heroes here. If word ever comes out down the line that they illegally imprisoned people, even for the right reason, it could look very bad.

Her mind is racing as she starts evaluating a number of possibilities, situations and scenarios flitting through her head as she tries to come up with some semblance of a contingency plan.

“Betty?” Caitlin’s voice is sharp, undoubtedly is isn’t the first time she’s tried calling her, and Betty snaps around. “You okay?”

Betty nods, “Yea. I just got lost in my head for a minute. I’m fixing to go see Joe, would you like to come with me?”

Caitlin looks torn for a moment but eventually shakes her head. “Cisco and I are heading out, having a friends’ night.”

“Alright.”

Betty bids everyone goodnight and leaves, heading for the hospital. She pulls out her phone to make a quick call before she heads inside though. “Hey, sorry to be calling you so late. Are you still planning to visit soon? I kind of need a favor.”


	10. Chapter 10

One of the good things about working with her twin is that Betty and Barry’s schedules match up more often than not and all of their days off are staggered in such a way that the twins generally have at least one in common a week. Unfortunately, today is not one of those days. Barry is at STAR Labs doing some ‘training’ while Betty is stuck working with Jamis. Luckily, he prefers the main lab in the basement and rarely comes upstairs to what is effectively the Allen Lab.

Despite being on different floors, completely separate ends of the building even, Jamis still manages to annoy her. Sometimes she wonders what life at CCPD would be like if Barry had been the only one to join. She has Jamis on speaker as she works, listening to him prattle on about something or another. She kind of tuned him out after the first hour. Her cell phone going off is a welcome reprieve.

“Allen,” she answers by route.

“Did you mute me?”

She curses under her breath, glaring towards her office phone. “No, I didn’t mute you. I’m just working. Why’d you call my cell when we’re already on the office phone?”

“Because you weren’t answering me.” She can hear the sneer. “Just got a call out but I’m backed up down here since you refuse to join me.”

“You don’t like my lab, I get it, and I accept it, so you should be able to accept that fact that I don’t like yours.” They’ve had this argument plenty in this last year.

“Your brother was hit by lightning in that lab!”

“And your lab is situated next to the morgue,” she replies duly. “Again, let’s agree to disagree. Now, what’s this about a call?”

“Jewelry store was hit and they need someone to work the scene.”

“Have one of the in-house couriers bring it all up and I’ll start going over whatever you haven’t already started.”

“What part of ‘I’m backed up’ didn’t you get?” Jamis’s sigh is put upon, like he is speaking to some child. “I checked your log and you’re practically done. Just go check out the scene.”

“Singh doesn’t want me in the field anymore,” she reminds him even as she starts shutting things down. “I already had to argue to be able to keep working in the lab.”

“Some fresh air will do you good,” Jamis scoffs. “I’ll text you location.”

Betty rolls her eyes, pulling on her jacket and heading out. She groans under her breath when she gets to the scene and sees Singh standing with Joe.

His eyes narrow, flicking from her to her case. “Where is Jamis?”

“Had too much back log,” she shrugs. “Told me to come and since he’s the senior forensic assistant, here I am.”

“You’re not supposed to be in the field anymore,” Singh reminds her. “I’m not even sure you should still be in the lab around all those chemicals.”

“Remind Jamis of the first, and maybe mention the hours because I went over by three last week,” she tosses nonchalantly, ignoring as his glower darkens. He’s very serious about making sure she stays healthy and doesn’t overwork herself and is _very_ against her working more than her scheduled hours. “As for the lab, I’ve talked to several dozen people by this point and filled out countless forms regarding the issue and so long as I continue to wear the proper equipment whenever handling chemicals and follow the added regulations and procedures forwarded by HR, I am perfectly fine to work up until my water breaks or I’m put on bed rest. You don’t have to worry about any law suits if my baby comes out with a third eye or something.”

“How about we let Singh handle Jamis and you head on back to the lab,” Joe offers quickly, showcasing his phone. “I’ll get Barry down here to help cover this.”

“But it’s his day off,” she reminds.

“Well seeing as to how the lab is so overwhelmed, I’ll approve the overtime,” Singh says. “Get back to the lab and finish your log. If you finish before your shift is over, go home. As a matter of fact, go on and head out now. If I find you’ve gone over this week, I’ll put you on maternity leave early!”

Betty grumbles under her breath but turns obediently. “Fine, but only because I was planning to skive out early anyway and because I know this will tick Jamis off even more.”

“Get going.”

She laughs but leaves as instructed, heading for the train station. She pulls up behind a taxi and climbs out. “Sorry I’m late, had to make a detour. The luggage can go into my car.”

The cabbie gives her a dirty look but she continues to smile, blithely ignoring him as she is suddenly enveloped in a hug. “Oh my God, you’re showing! You got a belly! Not like a fat belly, because you’re not fat, really, you look great, but holy cow you’re actually showing and last time we met I thought you were joking but you’re, well, you’re having a _baby_. Just how far along are you now?”

Betty laughs, letting Felicity step back to get a good look, even opening her jacket to showcase her prominent bump. “I’m finishing out month six now and yes, I’m finally showing. I started gaining weight like crazy after Barry woke up; something to do with not being worried over whether or not he’s actually going to wake up?”

“And how is he doing?” Felicity asks. “I know he visited Oliver for some advice a while back, but he hasn’t called or anything.”

“It’s been a little crazy,” Betty sighs. “Getting settled back at work, dealing with the fact that Iris is very happily committed to someone else, and then trying to be a hero, not to mention hide the fact that he is a hero from everyone. He’s working to find a way to balance it all out.”

Felicity offers a sympathetic sigh but cheers up a moment later when a brunette joins them. “Right, Betty, this is my friend, Laurel. Laurel, this is Barry’s twin sister, Betty.”

“We’ve talked a lot over the last few weeks,” Laurel smiles as they shake hands. “It’s nice to meet in person.”

“Wonderful, really.” Betty motions to the cabbie who is waiting impatiently. “I figure Felicity will want to visit Barry and while she does that, we can head to your hotel and get started?”

“Works for us.”

“Great. So, Barry got a call out earlier but should be finished soon. No doubt we’ll all end up meeting at STAR Labs. Seems like we end up there every night,” Betty rolls her eyes. “Even if there’s nothing on the scanner Barry still likes to do patrols to be safe.”

“Yea, it becomes habit real fast,” Felicity grimaces. “Okay, so meet up later? I think I should go before my cab decides to leave without me.”

Betty and Laurel watch her leave before they set out themselves. “I brought all of the files I could get my hands on and I’ve been researching like crazy in my spare. And maybe some in my not-so-spare time,” Laurel smiles. “And I reached out to a friend of mine who has offered to help.”

“ARGUS?” Betty guesses with a scowl.

“Unfortunately, yes, she does work for ARGUS,” Laurel cedes. “Fortunately, they’ve agreed to stay out of it. Seems Waller doesn’t think this will last and while she’d like to bring a few in herself, she realizes that there is a real need for this. Lyla has experience with this sort of thing and she’s removed from both groups enough that she can remain unbiased. I’ll be your main advisor in legal matters and if Wells wants to appoint some of his own counsel, I will fill them in on everything. Lyla and I have met several times now and she has helped me get everything together. What we need to do is decide who all is going to be part of this and what their roles will be.”

“For now we’ll want to keep it restricted to those who are part of the team, who already know the ‘Streak’s’ identity,” Betty says. “And we will have to make sure there is a clause regarding him working with other vigilantes because I have no doubt there will be team ups in the future.”

“The Arrow doesn’t always play particularly well with others,” Laurel smirks.

“So I’ve heard, but it’s an eventuality we will still want to cover. There’s no guarantee the meta-humans will stay in Central, just as I doubt all of the Arrow’s… adversaries will limit themselves to Starling. All angles need to be covered here.”

“Such as the fact that vigilantism, regardless of how people may label it, is still illegal,” Laurel quips.

“Exactly,” Betty nods. “Whether we’re behind the scenes or in the field we are all vigilantes. What we’re proposing here needs to be protected against that.”

“First things first, we need to go over what I’ve gathered and get a general plan in order,” Laurel starts. “Lyla is coming in tomorrow to see what we’ve got together to help us iron out the finer details.”


	11. Chapter 11

“Don’t get mad,” are the first words Betty says as she enters the cortex. Three heads turn to her as one and she forces herself not to react.

“Okay, any time someone says that, it generally means you’re fixing to get seriously mad,” Cisco hums. “So…”

Betty waves a hand over her shoulder, drawing everyone’s attention to Laurel and Lyla as they come in behind her.

“More guests,” Wells sighs.

“Guests who you will welcome with open arms if you want to avoid prison time in the future,” Betty smiles tightly. “Laurel is a DA in Starling and Lyla is with ARGUS. Both of them are friends of Felicity and are here to assist with our basement issue.”

“Miss Smoak and Mr. Allen are aware of their presence?”

“Barry, no, which is why I waited until I was sure he’d left for Trivia Night. Felicity, yes. She’s the one who put me in contact with Laurel after I told her of our situation,” Betty answers. “Lyla has some… well, experience, with situations like this.”

“And you thought bringing them here was a good idea?”

“You three have a man illegally imprisoned in your basement,” Betty stresses. “A man that me, my brother, and our foster father all had a hand in bringing down. This is not something we can keep hidden forever and I’d like to try to make this as legal as possible.”

“By going to ARGUS?”

“ARGUS is keeping completely separate from this,” Lyla speaks up. “When this is brought to light, we want everything to be as above board as possible, which is why we’ve been working so tirelessly this past week.”

“Metas are just starting to make their appearance and no one is ready for something like this to be publicly known just yet,” Laurel says. “As it stands, there is no place capable of holding them. We don’t know enough about meta-humans and from what little information I’ve seen, each meta is unique in a way that cookie-cutter cells won’t work. Each cell has to be individually tailored to the meta, something standard prisons are not up to task for.”

“After the first confirmed meta incident, Danton Black–”

“Multiplex,” Cisco corrects. He shrinks under the stares Laurel and Lyla direct at him.

“After the ‘Multiplex’ incident, and after reports of this ‘Streak’ started spreading, ARGUS approached STAR Labs about certain measures we could counteract with,” Lyla resumes, spinning the tale they’ve come up with. “STAR Labs, understandably, refused to build weapons. Instead, in an effort to make amends for something you feel responsible for having a hand in, you offered to help capture these meta-humans which we all agree the police are not prepared to handle yet. After rounds of intense negotiating, you refusing to trust ARGUS not to use metas as they wish, you offered to retrofit your pipeline to act as a prison of sorts.”

“Which is where we come in.” Laurel draws out several stacks of paper which she hands to the STAR Lab members. “The top packet is a detailed outline of requirements which must be met for this facility to be considered a private holding facility. In no way, shape, or form are you a prison. You are the foremost experts on meta-humans and as such you are the ones best qualified for caring for and keeping meta-humans in check. Dr. Snow will be listed as the primary care physician, Ramon is your leading tech expert and in accordance with Dr. Wells is responsible for the tech which restricts a meta-human’s abilities and ensures each cell can withstand the assigned occupant.”

“For now, your occupancy is just one which is a start, but we all know that number will be going up,” Lyla says as the others begins flipping through pages. “I will be staying for a short time to help make sure everything is brought up to standards and Laurel will be staying for the next week for all of us to go over legal matters to ensure this will not negatively affect not only STAR Labs, but each of you as individuals.”

“If all of you agree to this, we want to make sure everyone is protected,” Laurel assures them. “I will go over everything in detail, to make sure all of the angles are covered, including your continued assistance to the meta-vigilante who will also be protected.”

“You’ll protect him too?” Caitlin demands.

“They know Barry is the vigilante,” Betty informs them, knowing all of them are wondering. “They have him covered as both Barry Allen the CSI, and as the newest vigilante, codename still pending.”

“And the circle just keeps getting wider,” Wells smiles tightly.

“Yes, but seeing as to how everyone here wants to protect Barry, I think we can all agree that this is the right thing to do,” Betty scowls. “In case everyone forgot, Joe, Barry, and I are all employed by the CCPD which means that if this comes to light, we get it two-three times as hard as the three of you, and that is before Barry being the vigilante comes out. Then there’s the fact that I just don’t like knowing we are keeping a man prisoner.”

“He’s a killer,” Wells tries to remind her.

“I know that. I’m not saying I’m against it, because I am really not. What I’m against is what will happen if this all gets out. I want my brother protected. I want Joe protected. I want Cisco and Caitlin protected. I do not want my family to be destroyed all over again. That means we need to turn this make-shift prison of yours into an actual prison.”

“Holding facility,” Laurel corrects. Betty is fairly certain she can hear a smile, regardless of the straight face Laurel is wearing. “From here on, you have to make sure you use the term ‘holding facility’ and not ‘prison’. It can have negative connotations that you don’t want linked to your brother’s hero persona and the overall mission you’re trying to accomplish here.”

“Sorry, holding facility,” Betty cedes, a smirk twitching at her lips. “Barry will probably like it better too, though for the most part we’ve just been calling it the pipeline.”

“That can be the name,” Lyla points. “You can’t simply keep calling it the ‘basement problem’ or the ‘STAR Labs meta-prison’, and ‘private meta-holding facility’ is a bit of a mouthful.”

“Fine, so by getting support and finalizing the details of the Pipeline meta-human holding facility,” Betty smirks in triumph when she sees Lyla’s lips twitch in amusement and Laurel outright grins. “We can protect ourselves from too much fall-out in the future. And, while it won’t ease our nerves regarding having superpowered criminals in the basement, it will ease our consciences.”

“And you’re going to help us get everything up to code?” Cisco asks.

Lyla nods. “Miss Lance will sit down with each of you to go over your individual duties as well as meeting with you in groups to go over the paperwork. Before I meet with all of you I will need to do an initial walkthrough to go over what areas need improvement and what facilities might need to be added.”

“Added?”

“For starters, you can’t keep these people in a six-by-six cell twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Given their unique abilities, we can work around some of the communal areas, but some things will still be needed. All inmates are afforded basic amenities, such as a library, an exercise room, bathing facilities. These can be overlooked right now, but they will be needed in the future. And since I doubt you will want to treat them up here where your team is stationed, you’ll need a separate medical station as well.”

Cisco’s mind is already working. “There are some rooms which we can alter, though we’d probably only be able to let them out one at a time since their abilities are so varied.”

“Again, understandable,” Lyla nods. “And these are things we’ll be going over. But first and foremost, we need to talk about your security.”

“Such as limiting who has access to the Pipeline level, as well as this one,” Betty suggests. “We’ll want extensive monitoring in the Pipeline areas, including the cells, to be sure they are behaving since there’s no true way of knowing their full potential. And any research in regards to meta-humans will need to be kept on a separate server, that way if someone manages to hack STAR Labs, such as Felicity, us and the Pipeline are kept safe.”

“Any weapons or tech designed or manufactured to combat meta-humans will either have to kept on this floor or on a separate floor with special security,” Lyla adds.

“One of the main things we are doing here is that we are trying to be sure to keep separate the work you do for STAR Labs and the work you do as vigilantes,” Laurel explains. “While there might be some overlap, keeping the two separate will be a good idea. Something I will also be talking to Betty and Barry about later.”

Betty nods, grimacing at the thought. That is going to be a real fun conversation.

“Speaking of weapons and security…”

Everyone turns to Cisco who is shrinking even more.

“It seems we are missing one,” Wells sighs.

Betty sits up even straighter, exchanging a worried glance with Caitlin. “What kind of weapon?”

Cisco shifts uncomfortably. He looks to Wells who motions for him to take the floor. He lets out a gusty sigh and steps forwards. “It’s a cold gun.”

“A cold gun?” Betty asks, afraid she already knows exactly what the purpose was.

“It’s a gun that fires at absolute zero,” Cisco tells them.

Betty’s head starts spinning, her stomach churning as she shakily sits down in the nearest chair. “A gun you designed to take down Barry?”

“I’m sorry, I–”

“What gets me isn’t that it exists, no, wait, that is exactly what the problem is!” Betty snaps.

“I didn’t know what type of person Barry was when I built it,” Cisco tries defending.

“I get that part of it, I get you designing one, but why the hell did you _build_ it?” She demands. “What’s more, after you saw what type of person he is, why the hell didn’t you destroy it?”

“I’m sorry, Betty, I–”

“No, you built a gun to destroy my brother and even if you didn’t tell him, you sure as shit should have told me,” she snaps. “That is my brother, my twin, and you designed a weapon that, regardless of his healing factor, could kill him! And now it’s God knows where!”

Caitlin steps forward, hand held towards her, “Betty, we–”

“No!” Betty takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “Cisco, talk to Laurel. This is a weapon designed by STAR Labs. More importantly, it is a weapon that can be linked to our team here. We need to have everything documented in a way that this won’t blow back on you, the Labs, or this team. Caitlin, why don’t you look over whatever Cisco has on hand about the gun and see if you can extrapolate what kind of effects it might have on Barry. For that matter, what effects it could have on normal humans without a healing factor, we have no idea who has this gun, let alone how they will use it. Lyla, while they do that, why don’t you and Wells get started on that walkthrough you mentioned?”

Everyone exchanges glances but warily nod. Betty sits for a moment longer, taking several deeps breaths and trying to calm herself, rubbing a soothing hand over her stomach when her son decides to partake in acrobatics. There is no use in getting upset about this right now. It is already done and the only thing they can do now is start planning how to counter whatever might come up later.


	12. Chapter 12

In all of her theories of ‘whatever might come up later’, she can safely say that this was at the very bottom of her list. Betty had left STAR Labs and come home to try and calm down. And by home she meant she went the West house. She turns the TV on, not paying any attention to whatever is on as she stretches out across the couch. She sighs, putting an arm over her face. She can’t have been there long before she hears the door open. There is an airy laugh moments later and Betty moves her arm just enough to glower up at Iris.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at Trivia Night with Barry, Felicity, and Eddie?”

Iris lets out a heavy sigh and sits on the arm of the couch at her feet. “Eddie got called out. The guy from the armored truck this morning.”

“Don’t tell me the idiot is trying for the diamond again?” Betty laughs. When Iris doesn’t laugh as expected, Betty moves her arm to find her looking at her seriously. Frowning, Betty pushes up onto her elbows and nudges Iris with her foot. “What’s wrong?”

Iris fidgets, lacing and re-lacing her fingers before she lets out a heavy sigh. She lifts Betty’s legs and slips onto the couch, holding Betty’s feet on her lap.

Worried now, Betty sits up more. “What’s the matter, Iris?”

“It’s Len.” Iris’s voice cracks and she tightens her hand on Betty’s feet. “He’s back.”

Betty opens her mouth, to say what she isn’t sure, but her mind catches up quickly. “He’s the one from the truck this morning? He’s the one Eddie and Joe are going after?”

Iris nods and Betty’s breath catches in her throat. She sits up all the way and Iris meets her instantly, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close. “I heard Eddie mention his name this morning but I wasn’t sure how to tell you or if you’d already heard, but… Betty–”

Betty shakes her head, trying to offer Iris her best smile. “I’m fine, really. I mean, I knew he’d be back. From what I’ve gathered, he hits Central every six months or so. This just… it’s not exactly… I’m not even sure what the hell I was expecting.”

“I’m sorry, Bet.”

“It’s fine, Iris,” she smiles tightly. “I probably won’t be okay for a while, but this is really something I should’ve expected.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier though,” Iris says.

Betty shakes her head, feeling her eyes water. “No, it really doesn’t. But, hey, look at it this way. When Joe finds out about me and Len, he’ll be a lot more accepting of Eddie. That has to be a good thing, right?”

Iris lets out a reluctant laugh, shaking her head as she hugs Betty tighter. “That’s not funny.”

“It is a little,” Betty giggles. “Come on, you’re dating his partner, I’m dating– well, _dated_ , not to mention knocked up by, a guy who he’s arrested. Multiple times.”

It is quiet for several moments before they both break out in laughter. It tapers off when the show she has on is interrupted by the news. This is the part where she couldn’t have possible theorized what was happening. Seeing her ex in a shootout with her foster-father, that isn’t so much surprising. Seeing that he is the one who’d gotten his hands on Cisco’s gun? The gun designed to take down her twin? That is the surprise.

“Oh God,” she gasps, watching the news.

Iris grips her hand, both of them watching raptly. When it is all over, she is glad Eddie and Joe are fine and only a tiny relieved when Len manages to get away.

“Betty…”

“I’m fine. Really, Iris,” Betty rushes to assure her. “There’s just… Jesus, Iris. I’m not really sure how the hell to feel about all of this. I mean, at least he didn’t kill anyone? And the fact that that is what I’m focusing on shows just how messed up this entire situation is.”

Iris pulls her close and she lets herself wallow in the comfort for a few more minutes before she pulls herself back together. “Okay, enough wallowing. For now, at least,” she laughs shakily. “But given this development, I think I should finally have that talk with Laurel.”

“Laurel?” Iris frowns. “Is she the lawyer you were thinking of going to about the whole…”

“About the Len situation?” Betty finishes wryly. “Yea.”

They watch the news for a little longer, giving Betty a chance to calm down a little more, before she decides it is time to leave. She gives Laurel a call to make sure she is available to meet up before she sets out.

As she enters Saints and Sinners, a few of the patrons are brave enough to offer her a smile but for once she doesn’t have it in her to respond. She walks up to the bar and one of the patrons moves to offer his stool but she waves him off. Shirley looks up from where she is restocking beer and she looks genuinely surprised to see her.

“It’s barely even dark out, what’re you doin’ here, girlie?” She smiles widely.

“Came to close my tab,” Betty says, sliding a handful of bills across the bar.

Shirley’s smile falls and she tries to push Betty’s hand away. “Done told you, it’s on the house.”

“It was,” Betty corrects. “But not anymore. Your boss got his message across loud and clear, or haven’t you seen the news?”

She gives a pointed glance to the TV behind the bar which is still covering Len’s shooting earlier.

“I’ve been coming here daily for four months, that should more than cover my tab. Give it to Len, keep it yourself, donate it, I don’t really care, but my tab here is closed,” she says clearly. The patron beside her shifts and Shirley looks from her to the money but nods reluctantly. Betty nods herself, watching as Shirley puts the money under the bar. She hesitates for a moment more before loosens her coat enough to unwind her scarf. She pulls out her necklace and unknots it, removing it carefully. She gently coils it together and sets it on the bar, “Give that to him as well.”

She leaves before Shirley can say anything.

Laurel meets her at the hotel and is nice enough to wait until they are inside before saying anything.

“So, you said you need legal advice outside of the STAR Labs situation?”

Betty nods tiredly. “The guy they’re going after, that Barry no doubt ran into earlier?”

“The man who got his hands on Cisco’s gun?” Laurel asks. “Cisco is thinking of calling him Captain Cold.”

“Oh, he’ll love that,” Betty snorts, flopping down across the bed. She lays back, blinking burning eyes up at the ceiling. “His name is Leonard Snart, he is forty-three years old. He has an obnoxious fondness for the cold because his grandfather used to drive an ice cream truck and it was the one place he felt he and his sister were safe after his father started drinking and beating them. His father was a dirty cop, he would take Len on jobs when he was little and Len gained a natural affinity for it, as well as a natural distrust of all things police-related. Len got a taste for thieving, not for the money but because of the thrill and the challenge of it all. There are only two people in this world who he views as trustworthy and while he doesn’t see them as his equals, he does see them as his partners. That would be his sister, Lisa, who used to figure skate until a knee injury took her out, and his long-time friend, Mick, who is a pyromaniac.”

There is a heavy plop and Betty bounces a little. It is quiet for several minutes before she feels Laurel lie down beside her.

“When did it start?”

“We met the day of the particle accelerator explosion,” Betty sighs. “Reconnected about a month later.”

“Did you know who he was?”

“Not until six months down the road,” she answers truthfully. “Joe wanted to meet him but I talked him into waiting until we made it to six months. When I brought up having him meet Joe, of taking him to see Barry, he came clean.”

“How’d you handle it?”

“We argued, at first. But I was willing to work it out.”

“Betty,” Laurel sighs.

“I loved him, Laurel. It may have only been six months, but I loved him.” Betty shakes her head, swallowing the tears that tried bubbling up. “I was willing to accept his past, because it was his past. He agreed. Three days later, I woke up and he was gone.”

“Until today?”

“Until today.”

“He’s the baby’s father?”

Betty nods, a tear finally slipping free. “He’s the baby’s father.”

“Anyone else know about the two of you?”

“Just our sisters. Iris and Lisa, the four us would have movie nights after we’d all met each other. Joe and the others, they knew I was seeing someone and that his name was Len, but that’s all,” she confesses. “No one else knows Len Wynters is Leonard Snart. I know I need to come clean to Captain Singh at the least, but… I guess I want to be sure things are covered on all ends, especially with the Barry being a vigilante, and now with Len having the cold gun.”

“Does he know?” Laurel asks. “Does Snart know about the baby?”

Betty shakes her head. “Not yet. After he left, I tracked down one of his favored haunts, found out he owned it. I’ve been visiting daily, trying to get in contact. I wasn’t showing until lately and I’ve been careful to dress so it’s not noticeable when I go in. I wanted to be able to tell him, didn’t want him to hear about it from a third party. I can’t… I don’t like the thought of keeping him from his son. With the way things were when Barry and I were growing up, the way things were with our dad, the way it stands with Nimo, I just can’t do that.”

Laurel lets out a heavy breath and she can feel when she turns to look at her. “The STAR Labs thing, I’m doing that free of charge. But this? This I am going to have to charge you for.”

“I know.” Betty meets her gaze and grins weakly in apology. “I’m sorry for giving you so much work.”

“It’s fine,” Laurel says. She reaches over and links their arms together. “From what little I’ve learned so far, I don’t like this guy. But… if you were together for six months, I’m guessing you got to see a side of him that we haven’t. So I will do this, I will dig up whatever I can to see what our options are, maybe see if there is some way to tie this into your STAR Labs deal, and then I will get back to you. Just… try to keep your distance for now?”

“No problem on that end,” she snorts.

“Good.” Laurel sits up and grabs a writing pad and pen. “Now, tell me everything. From the time you two first met until the time you came through that door tonight.”


End file.
